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Send to a friend359 DAYS OUT -- $1m Perry buy on Fox -- What flat-footed Penn State coverage can teach politics journos – NYT 2-col. lead: Wind, solar aid goes to projects that would have been built anyway

359 DAYS OUT -- $1m Perry buy on Fox -- What flat-footed Penn State coverage can teach politics journos – NYT 2-col. lead: Wind, solar aid goes to projects that would have been built anyway

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TO SALUTE STEPHANIE CUTTER on her departure from the White House en route Obama 2012, POTUS called a fake senior advisers’ meeting Thursday evening, then rolled out champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Last day was yesterday; she starts at Chicago HQ after Thanksgiving. LARRY SUMMERS’ syllabus for his spring 2011 Harvard class, “Crisis Economics: History and Evaluation of the Policy Response to the Great Recession,” included “Too Big To Fail,” “The Big Short” (hat tip: @PoliticoKevin). 21-page PDF http://hvrd.me/seHbEVFIRST GOP DEBATE ON BROADCAST TV – tonight at 8 in Spartanburg, S.C., “held in conjunction with the South Carolina State Republican Party. Scott Pelley, anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY, and Major Garrett, congressional correspondent for National Journal, will moderate the debate, which will be hosted by Wofford College … The 90-minute debate will begin at 8:00 PM ET … The first hour will be broadcast live (8:00-9:00 PM, ET) on the CBS Television Network,” with the rest on CBSNews.com. --PREGAME, by Reid Epstein: “With its focus on national security and foreign policy, the … debate will force the field to talk about something they’ve, for the most part, spent the campaign avoiding — a coherent vision for American foreign policy. But with the economy overshadowing all else and most of the GOP field — aside from former Ambassador Jon Huntsman — bereft of significant experience in foreign affairs, expect frequent pivots back to jobs and the unemployment rate. Those pressures aren’t the only forces driving the presidential candidates to look inward … The GOP itself is struggling to reconcile the views of the party’s hawkish wing with the more isolationist-oriented tea party wing.” http://bit.ly/rHV3EPMITT ROMNEY campaign blog post, “Obsession”: “[T]he Democrats referenced Mitt Romney in 24 of the 31 posts on their debate watch commentary website. No other GOP candidate was mentioned by name. … Ben LaBolt, Press Secretary for Obama for America, references Mitt Romney in 24 of his last 28 tweets on Twitter. … In recent weeks, the DNC has released 26 attack videos on their YouTube channels. Unsurprisingly, all 26 videos have only one target — Mitt Romney.” http://mi.tt/u6lbja ... @mittromney: I’m now on Google+ – add me to your circles and stay tuned this weekend for a big announcement

--AP for Sunday papers – “Romney-Political Shifting: Romney's political shifts stir criticism,” by Steve LeBlanc, in Boston: “Romney has shifted positions on abortion, gay rights, stem cell research and health care. … Rick Perry and Romney's other rivals portray him as a political chameleon. But voters are focused on the nation's faltering economy. That's playing to what Romney sees as his strength - real world experience in business and government.”

TOP TALKER -- N.Y. Times A15, “To Catch Up, Perry Makes A Big Ad Buy,” by Jim Rutenberg: “Rick Perry … purchased nearly $1 million in advertising time on Fox News Channel, an extraordinary commitment of resources intended to jolt his candidacy … back on track. … Rival campaign … took the move as a sign that Mr. Perry’s advertising team believes raising his standing nationally with Republican opinion makers and donors … is as important as doing so in critical states. … [A] person briefed on the Fox News purchase said that Mr. Perry would be focusing mostly on the network’s daytime programming, rather than its far more expensive prime-time programs like ‘The O’Reilly Factor.’” http://nyti.ms/s5MBrR

--“Columnist Will’s wife working for Perry,” by Dylan Byers: “[George] Will's wife, Mari Maseng -- a former communications director to both Ronald Reagan and Bob Dole -- started working for the campaign more than a week ago and helped Perry prepare for his most recent disastrous debate performance. Will, who has made no secret of his distaste for Perry rival Mitt Romney, plans to disclose the connection this Sunday on ABC and in future Washington Post columns, according to Post editor Fred Hiatt.” http://politi.co/uYf7he ... Maggie Haberman: “Maseng also worked for Michele Bachmann. … Maseng was part of the congresswoman's speechwriting team between February and May this year. That was the period when Bachmann was building up to a presidential campaign.” http://bit.ly/vuHH0m

BREAKING -- “Obama arrives in Hawaii to host APEC summit” – AFP/Honolulu: “President Obama arrived [at 3:43 a.m. ET] in his native Hawaii to host a weekend summit of leaders from Pacific Rim nations, including the leaders of Japan and China. Launching a nine-day Pacific tour, Obama touched down … in his birth city of Honolulu, where police had erected fences on laid-back Waikiki Beach and sniffer dogs scoped the palm tree-lined harbor. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum brings together 21 economies located around the Pacific Ocean in an annual summit focused on economic growth, free trade and investment. … After leaving Hawaii on Monday, Obama will celebrate 60 years of security ties with Australia and make the first visit by a US president to the East Asia summit, set for Bali next week.”

FIRST LOOK – Dylan Ratigan, bombastic host of an eponymous show at 4 p.m. weekdays on MSNBC, will be out in January with “Greedy Bastard$! How We Can Stop Corporate Communists, Banksters, and Other Vampires from Sucking America Dry” (Simon & Schuster). The slim, election-year rant channels Matt Taibbi in an effort to cash in on populist rage: “Shortly after the federal bailout deal was reached in 2008 [when Ratigan was hosting CNBC’s ‘Fast Money’], I had lunch with a banking CEO who asked if he could speak off the record. He said, ‘Dylan, do you see what is going on here? This is the largest theft and cover-up in American history.’ … The cover-up was the government’s choice to print trillions of dollars in new money to make it seem (for a while) as if the problem had been fixed. …

“[W]hile many business journalists were cheering the government for our latest ‘rescue’ from the crisis, … [a]s a guest on ‘The View,’ I said that the politicians who authorized the bailout should go to prison. … [T]he underlying problems have not been solved. … REFORM CAMPAIGN FINANCE. … A three-paragraph constitutional amendment could make it illegal for any political to accept direct or indirect private money or support … ‘No person, corporation, or business entity, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for federal office or to contribute money on behalf or opposed to any type of campaign for federal office.’” See the cover; $15.51 on Amazon. http://amzn.to/v0UBvJPUNDIT PREP -- Drudge banner, “NEWT MOVES INTO SECOND” … links to WSJ “Washington Wire” blog, “Polls: Gingrich Grows on GOP Voters,” by Mary Lu Carnevale: “Two polls out Friday show … Newt Gingrich’s campaign gaining traction. And both polls show … 17% of respondents are undecided. A McClatchy-Marist poll of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents finds that Mitt Romney’s poll numbers remain steady – he generally garners the support of about a quarter of the Republican and Republican-leaning voters. … Romney, 23%; Mr. Gingrich, 19%; Mr. Cain, 17%; Texas Rep. Ron Paul 10%; Texas Gov. Rick Perry, 8%, and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, 5%. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum got 1% apiece. … A CBS News poll [of Republican primary voters] shows Mr. Romney’s support slipping to 15%, putting him even with Mr. Gingrich and behind Mr. Cain, at 18%.” http://on.wsj.com/tsd5t2

--N.Y. Times p. 1 tease, “Gingrich Making Gains: Newt Gingrich, whose aides fled earlier this year as his campaign nearly collapsed, is debating strongly and raising money. A new CBS News poll shows him near the front of the pack.” … NYT A14, “As Foes Flounder, Gingrich Gets Bump in Polls,” by Trip Gabriel: “He is suddenly pulling in money — ‘more on Wednesday than in all of July,’ he said in an interview — which has allowed him to open a state headquarters here in New Hampshire, with six paid staff members. He is promising to campaign hard in Iowa … [H]is campaign still feels intended as much to promote his ideas and media projects — his schedule the next two weeks is heavy with screenings of his documentary films and signings for a children’s book written by his wife, Callista.” http://bit.ly/tLPeoK

POPPING ONLINE --HuffPost banner, “YANKED: Ad By Karl Rove-Backed Group Pulled Off TV Show” … AP/Helena: “A conservative group's … ad …has been pulled from a cable network amid complaints from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester that it falsely accuses him of supporting tougher rules for farm dust. The ad from Crossroads GPS claims that Tester ‘voted against preventing Obama's EPA from being able to regulate Montana farmers' dust.’ The … group says Cablevision's Optimum cable service did pull the advertisement, although other networks have not. Tester's campaign argues the grain farmer has long record of opposition to the scuttled EPA proposal. The ad bases its claim on a procedural vote to stop amendments on an unrelated bill, which Republicans later wanted to amend with a ban on farm dust regulations.”

--Nate Hodson of Crossroads GPS tells HuffPost’s Michael McAuliff: “It was a very small cable system. The four largest broadcast stations in Montana reviewed the facts supporting the ad and will continue airing it. … We are communicating with the cable system and expect that the ad will be back up and running on cable soon.” REAL WORLD – WSJ 5-col. lead, “Europe Pulls Back From Brink: Greece Swears In New Leader as Italy Moves Austerity Plan Forward; U.S., European Markets Jump.” ** A message from Altria: At Altria, how we conduct business is as important as the business results we achieve. Our tobacco companies are committed to marketing their products responsibly to adult consumers while helping to prevent underage access to tobacco products. ** BIRTHDAYS: Michelle Perry, senior producer of "Andrea Mitchell Reports," is 31 (hat tip: Andrea) ... Elena Allbritton (h/t Autumn) ... OMB deputy director for management Jeff Zients (h/t Win Lord) ... Norm Mineta ... USA Today's Nancy Trejos ... CNN's Stephanie Kotuby (ht/s Patrick Gavin) ... Tyrone Gayle, Tim Kaine’s body man, is 24. He's still not old enough to rent a car. He will celebrate by watching his Clemson Tigers take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, then have dinner with friends at Marvin's. … Kamal Marell and Jay Lumpkins, both Clemon track teammates with Tyrone ... Amber Cottle (h/t Scott Mulhauser) ... Vinny Minchillo ... Al Michaels is 67 ... Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), is 62 ... Nadia Comaneci is 50 ... Sammy Sosa is 43 ... Tonya Harding is 41 ... Gina Hill ... Sheila O'Connell ... Pam Oatis ... Mica Strother (h/ts Teresa Villmain). IF YOU READ ONLY ONE THING – N.Y. Times 2-col. lead, “Rich Subsidies Powering Solar and Wind Projects: Big Rise in Government Aid — Companies Are Virtually Assured of Profits,” by Eric Lipton and Clifford Krauss: “When the Obama administration and Congress expanded the clean-energy incentives in 2009, a gold-rush mentality took over. … From 2007 to 2010, federal subsidies jumped to $14.7 billion from $5.1 billion … Most of the surge came from the economic stimulus bill, which was passed in 2009 and financed an Energy Department loan guarantee program and a separate Treasury Department grant program that were promoted as important in creating green jobs. States like California sweetened the pot by offering their own tax breaks … The federal loan guarantee program expired on Sept. 30. The Treasury grant program is scheduled to expire at the end of December, although the energy industry is lobbying Congress to extend it. But other subsidies will remain.
“The windfall for the industry over the last three years raises questions of whether the Obama administration and state governments went too far in their support of solar and wind power projects, some of which would have been built anyway, according to the companies involved. Obama administration officials argue that the incentives, which began on a large scale late in the Bush administration but were expanded by the stimulus legislation, make economic and environmental sense. … ‘Subsidies and government support have been part of many key industries in U.S. history — railroads, oil, gas and coal, aviation,’ said Damien LaVera, an Energy Department spokesman.” http://nyti.ms/uFtWO0 MEDIAWATCH – Criticism of coverage of the Penn State scandal by ESPN and the WashPost holds lessons for political journalists and their bosses: Even if you get beat on a huge story, you gotta play heads-up ball after that: deploying resources, providing a larger frame, breaking new information, asking insightful questions, helping your audiences process the news. --ESPN Poynter Review Project on ESPN.com, “ESPN stumbles with Penn State coverage,” by Jason Fry and Kelly McBride: “ESPN was slow this week to grasp the full implications of the recent criminal indictments at Penn State University. … With the biggest staff of sports journalists in the world, ESPN should have been leading the charge to ask tough questions and shed light on this scandal. Instead, it was the tiny Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. out in front of the journalism pack. Their reporters managed to track down two mothers of boys Sandusky allegedly abused. And the paper had the leadership to write a front-page editorial calling for Penn State trustees to clean house. … Vince Doria, ESPN's senior vice president and director of news, defended the network's coverage, pointing out that from the outset managers were sensitive to the victims in the story. …
“We were particularly dismayed Tuesday morning, when ESPN and its vast resources seemed to be behind the curve, failing to turn up new information or advance the story and instead sounding tone deaf to the nature of this story. A College Football Nation blog post Monday by Adam Rittenberg examined how the Penn State scandal could affect the Nittany Lions' recruiting. … [C]oming when it did, Rittenberg's post wound up looking myopic and trivial. … It wasn't until ‘College GameDay’ analyst Kirk Herbstreit joined ‘SportsCenter’ [on Tuesday] afternoon that anyone on the air could fully articulate the appropriate hard-hitting questions and moral outrage. … [D]oing a lot of work and doing the right type of work are not the same things. … ESPN has built an incredibly powerful organization that is capable of having an impact. The network should live up to that.” http://es.pn/s9qlqx--WashPost Ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton, “A yard short on Penn State coverage”: “Compared with the New York Times and USA Today, The Post was slower to respond, and when it did, its columnists were the featured players, rather than news reporters on the scene in State College, Pa. On Nov. 5, a Pennsylvania grand jury accused Paterno’s former defensive coordinator, Gerald Sandusky, of abusing eight young boys … Post print readers first learned of the scandal … only if they went to the Sports section, where Mike Wise’s column … led the section … There was no news story in that day’s paper. The Times, in contrast, had a lengthy front-page story that jumped to the Sports section. On Monday, The Post ran a short Associated Press story on the third page of Sports. That’s all. The Times had two staff-written stories, one on its Sports front …
“On Tuesday, The Post had a fine John Feinstein column on Penn State that … jumped to Page D3, where there was again a short AP story on the scandal. The Times had a front-page photo teasing to its Sports section, which had two stories and a column. USA Today hit the scandal hard that day. Its front-page featured story was on the scandal, and in Sports it had two more stories, plus a column and a reader poll on Paterno’s fate. By this time, Post readers were getting angry. … But the pattern of Post competitors doing more continued through the week. … [T]hrough Friday, … [t]he only front-page article was Thomas Boswell’s column Thursday. The Times did [four front-page] stories over the same time frame … The Times also consistently made an effort to give the story a national focus — what this story said about the power of college football and college sports in general. … Matt Vita, The Post’s sports editor, defended the newspaper coverage: ‘We have had people on the ground up there for most of the week. Beyond that, our columnists are the backbone of our section’ … Online, The Post’s coverage was more extensive … But the vast majority of The Post’s revenue still comes from print circulation, and on Penn State, The Post’s newspaper fell short.” http://wapo.st/sGkZOp THE PRESIDENT’S DAY: “In the morning, the President will meet with Trans-Pacific Partnership leaders. There will be a travel pool spray at the bottom with statements. Later in the morning, the President will answer questions at an APEC CEO business summit. … In the afternoon, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Noda of Japan. There will be a travel pool spray at the top with statements. After, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with President Medvedev of Russia. There will be a travel pool spray at the bottom with statements. Then, the President will then hold a bilateral meeting with President Hu of China. There will be a travel pool spray at the top with statements. In the evening, the President and the First Lady will welcome APEC leaders and spouses in an arrival ceremony. … Later in the evening, the President and the First Lady will host an APEC leaders and spouses dinner. There will be a travel pool spray at the top. Afterwards, the President and the First Lady will then host an APEC reception and performance. There will be a travel pool spray at the top.” --THE V.P.’S WEEKEND: “On Saturday, the Vice President will be in Wilmington, Delaware. There are no public events scheduled. On Sunday, the Vice President will travel to Detroit, Michigan. At 4:00 PM, the Vice President will attend an event for Senator Debbie Stabenow. At 6:30 PM, the Vice President will deliver remarks at the annual Yeshiva Beth Yehudah Dinner at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. … The Vice President will return to Washington, DC, in the evening.”
SPORTS BURST – WashPost A1 in final (photo key in Suburban), “Nationals' Ramos is safe after release: Player's 50-hour ordeal in Venezuela comes to an end," by Juan Forero in Valencia, Venezuela, and Adam Kilgore in Washington: “Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos returned safely to his home early Saturday, after harrowing 50 hours in captivity that ended in a dramatic rescue late Friday night. ‘The truth is I’m still very nervous, but thanks to God everything turned out well,’ Ramos told Venezuelan state television, speaking by telephone after arriving at a police station in his hometown of Valencia early Saturday. He said the final moments of his captivity had been hair-raising as police and the kidnappers exchanged heavy fire in the remote mountainous area where he was being held, according to the Associated Press. … Ramos was found in the town of Montalban … in central Venezuela … The area is roughly 40 miles northwest of Ramos’s family’s home in Valencia, where four men abducted him Wednesday evening, dragging him into a vehicle at gunpoint.” http://wapo.st/tEZ6T4THE SHOWS, from @Matt Mackowiak: --NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R), member, Penn State University Board of Trustees; Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; roundtable with New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne
--ABC’s “This Week”: Political roundtable with Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, USA Today columnist and ABC News contributor Christine Brennan, ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, BigJournalism.com Editor and radio talk show host Dana Loesch and ABC News’ George Will; Iran roundtable with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Karim Sadjadpour and former U.N. Weapons Inspector David Albright
--CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); DGA Chairman Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-MD) and Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS); Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-UT); roundtable with CBS News’ John Dickerson, National Journal’s Major Garrett, former Clinton White House Secretary Dee Dee Myers and Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker (live from Spartanburg, S.C.).
--“Fox News Sunday”: Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA), former NFL player and Penn State alumnus Franco Harris and Penn State Student Body President T.J. Bard; Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC); roundtable with Fox News’ Brit Hume, the Christian Science Monitor’s Liz Marlantes, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and Fox News’ Juan Williams; “Power Player of the Week” with Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank
--CNN’s “State of the Union”: Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX); Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK); RNC Chairman Reince Priebus; Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles)
--CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS Live”: (Sun. 10 a.m. ET / 1 p.m. ET): Roundtable with Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Karim Sadjadpour; PIMCO Investments, LLC CEO and Co-CIO Mohamed El-Erian; former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI); former Libyan Interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jabril
--CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: (Sun., 11 a.m. ET): Roundtable with Newsweek / The Daily Beast’s Lauren Ashburn, the Chicago Tribune’s Clarence Page and the Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis; roundtable with USA Today columnist Christine Brennan and Newsweek / The Daily Beast’s Buzz Bissinger; Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum
--Univision’s “Al Punto” (Sun., 10 a.m. ET): Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina; Bill and Melinda Gates; Hispanic issues expert Arnoldo Torres; Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez; actor Mickey Rourke; roundtable with investigative journalist Olga Wornat and Radio Catalunya’s Xavier Vila
--NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show”: Roundtable with the Washington Post’s Nia-Malika Henderson, TIME’s Joe Klein, National Journal’s Major Garrett and BBC’s Katty Kay
--ABC7’s “Inside Washington”: (tonight at 7 on NewsChannel 8 / Sun., 9 a.m. ET on ABC7 WJLA): Roundtable with NPR’s Nina Totenberg, Washington Post columnist Colbert King and syndicated columnists Mark Shields and Charles Krauthammer
--TV One’s “Washington Watch with Roland Martin”: (Sun., 9 a.m. ET): Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and AFSCME Secretary / Treasurer Lee A. Saunders; roundtable with People for the American Way’s Rev. Lesly Watson Malachi; Rev. Dr. Gerald Lamont Thomas, author Dr. Randal Pinkett (“Black Faces in White Places”); R&B singer Monica; journalist / commentator panel with syndicated columnist George Curry, American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan, Comcast’s Robert Traynham and political commentator Cynthia Tucker
--SiriusXM's “Polioptics” with Adam Belmar and Josh King (Sat., noon ET / 6 p.m. ET): GOP ad guru Fred Davis descends from the Hollywood Hills to assess the creative landscape of 2012 and share secrets of his demon sheep and "building the danged fence" with Sen. John McCain. And Al Jazerra's Rosalind Jordan on Libya, Syria, Iran, the departure of super-envoy Dennis Ross. On SiriusXM's POTUS Ch. 124; also available for download on iTunes and at www.polioptics.com. ** A message from Altria: Altria’s companies produce premium tobacco brands, including Marlboro, Copenhagen, Skoal and Black & Mild, and quality wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest. As attitudes toward tobacco have changed, we’ve made significant changes in the way we do business. Our tobacco companies communicate openly about the health risks of tobacco – and provide information to help tobacco users who want to quit. To help reduce underage tobacco use, we fund the widely-recognized We Card® age verification program. And we supported giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco – the only major tobacco company to do so. At Altria, we also understand that our companies’ actions impact more than 335,000 U.S. retailers, their employees and thousands of farmers and suppliers. Recognizing our responsibilities. Helping find solutions. It’s our way of doing business at Altria today. Take a closer look at www.Altria.com. **